The Need to be Loved Can't be Wrong
by FelixFeroxFilia
Summary: AU modern universe without powers. Bart is 17 and Jaime is 20. Bart is an orphan and emancipated teen trying to live on his own while still attending counseling sessions provided by the state. Jamie is working on his psychology degree at the local university and is doing work-study program at the center. Things get interesting when Jaime has to take on a few cases to help out.


_AU modern universe without powers. Bart is 17 and Jaime is 20. Bart is an orphan and emancipated teen trying to live on his own while still attending counseling sessions provided by the state. Jamie is working on his psychology degree at the local university and is doing work-study program at the center. Things get interesting when Jaime has to take on a few cases to help out._

**A/N: Hey there! This is my first time writing a fiction for Young Justice/Bluepulse, so any tips, comments, or critiques are very welcome! I'd also like to thank my lovely beta reader yoru nekozawa-sensei, who has been a great help and has wonderful ideas! Story image by the wonderful testchambers on ! Thanks for reading, now onto the show!**

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Chapter 1

It was late August; summer was at its peak, and the smart citizens of El Paso Texas took shelter from the spiteful sun whenever they could. The cool air of the restaurant's AC washed over their sun-soaked tan skin as they tried to escape from the balmy Texas heat.

To Jaime and Tye it was blissful relief. They had spent the morning catching up at their old hangout spot, the skate park, and reworking old skills that had gone unused since graduating high school. Collapsing into a booth, they let the cool air sink into their sweat soaked shirts before starting up a new conversation.

"When do you go back to school?" Tye asked, eyeing Jaime's UTEP shirt.

Jaime smiled slightly and groaned jokingly before responding, "Next Monday, ese."

Tye chuckled good-naturedly at Jaime's dread of going back to school so soon. Tye, on the other hand, had chosen to wait a few years before attending college. He had wanted nothing to do with his mother's boyfriend Maurice and had decided that he would work to save up and pay his own way through college instead of asking his parents for help. At the moment he was staying with his grandfather, the El Paso Indian chief, in order to take care of him and work at the garage nearby. In short, he felt no sense of trepidation for the coming Monday. Instead he had a half-day of work tomorrow at Roberto's Auto Repair shop on the other side of town.

Tye sunk into the vinyl seat back with a sigh of relief and grabbed one of the menus at the end of the table to see what the restaurant offered. Jaime did the same.

Jaime was glad that Tye seemed ok with how his life was working out; although he did wish that his friend lived closer. As it was during the year, with both of their schedules so busy, they had a hard time seeing one another at all and days like this were becoming a rare occurrence. It really would be nice if they could see each other more often.

During his stroll down memory lane, Jaime remembered the second reason he had called Tye out on his one day off. His stomach squirmed with both embarrassment and relief at the memory. It had taken a lot of courage to confess to Tye that morning as they took a break on one of the park benches.

"Hey, hermano," he had started to say as they sat, drinking from their water bottles and watching the park slowly start to fill with teenagers who did not wake up before eleven on their summer vacations.

A knot of nerves had shot into his throat, choking off the rest of his sentence. He coughed to clear it, and the following question came out a little quieter than he had meant it to.

"What would you think if I wasn't into girls?" he had asked, determinately not looking at his friend.

The color slowly drained from his face as he waited, afraid of what Tye's reaction might be. They had never really discussed sexuality before. Jamie had dated a single girl during their high school years before deciding that it wasn't for him. It took him until he had started college, however, to admit to himself that he might be into the same sex.

"You think you're gay?" Tye had asked slightly shocked, but not so much that he couldn't start putting two and two together.

Jaime had never seemed all that interested in girls after his first girlfriend. Tye had just thought that the experience had been traumatic for the Latino. Obviously it had been an eye-opener, just not the one he had originally thought.

"Yeah," he had said guiltily, glancing over at his friend. Tye's expression was one of confusion of wonder, not the one of fear and disgust that Jaime had been dreading. He relaxed a little and continued, "Are we ok, ese?"

"Of course we are, hermano," Tye had said, using Jaime's favorite phrase, nudging Jaime on the shoulder lightly as if to prove his point and couldn't resist adding "But you know, I am totally 100% into girls so…" he trailed away, knowing that Jaime had understood his point.

"Gross, amigo, NO!" Jaime had shouted and punched Tye on the shoulder, "Ese, you're my _hermano! _That would be weird."

Tye laughed before throwing an arm over Jaime's shoulders and play-acting his disappointment, "So you don't think I'm attractive?"

"Even I have standards, hermano." Jaime joked and pushed Tye off, very glad that his buddy was being so supportive. It had felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders as they went back to skateboarding.

The clink of glass on their table broke Jaime from his reverie. It had taken the wait staff long enough to notice them. He and Tye had long since decided what they wanted to eat and their stomachs were growling audibly.

Jaime looked up at their waiter, slightly annoyed, and was instantly distracted by a pair of large green eyes that belonged to a skinny, harassed looking teenager who was apologizing to them profusely for taking so long.

"Ready to order?" their waiter asked, smiling tentatively and hurriedly taking out a pen and notepad.

Jaime was so distracted by the way the way the boy's auburn hair framed his face that he failed to notice Tye ordering his food. There was an awkward silence as both the waiter and Tye stared at him, waiting for Jaime to order. A few seconds went by before Jaime's brain caught up with the situation. Snapping back to attention, he cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment and confusion. He looked back at the menu and quickly ordered the burger and fries combo. Their waiter jotted something on his notepad before promising them that their food would be right out.

As soon as their waiter had left to wait on another table, Tye smirked at him and said, "So that's your type."

Jaime blushed and attempted to deny it. "N-no!" he said, "I mean he's way too young. Probably only fifteen or something."

Tye just continued to smirk and Jaime looked around for something else to say. He saw the back of their waiter across the restaurant waiting on an elderly couple and looked away quickly before Tye caught him staring. In his panic to look at something else, Jaime quickly noted that there didn't seem to be any other waiters in the place.

His brow furrowed slightly as he looked back at Tye he asked with sincere curiosity, "Where are all of the other waiters?"

Confused, Tye looked around as well and noted the odd lack of staff in the restaurant. "No wonder it took him so long to get to us," Tye said at last, feeling sorry for the kid who was flittering around like a humming bird, trying to pay enough attention to all of the tables as the restaurant slowly filled up for the afternoon lunch rush.

Jaime felt bad for the boy too, and made a mental note to give the kid a good tip.

Tye, however, wasn't one to be distracted for long. "So have you told your family yet?"

Reality crashed back down around Jaime and he fidgeted in his seat, looking sullenly at the glossy Formica surface of their table. "No," he said, a pained expression crossing his face, "I-I don't know how to tell them. Especially since I wasn't sure of it myself at first."

Tye grimaced in understanding, "I'm sure that they would understand, man. Your family is pretty chill and they love you." Tye had always been envious of Jamie's family. They were so perfect compared to his.

"Plus," he said, a smirk playing across his face again, "I would say you're definitively into guys, if your reaction to our waiter meant anything."

That elicited a weak chuckle from Jaime.

He wished that Tye could be there when he confessed to his parents and little sister, but he knew he was a long way from telling them. He also knew he couldn't rely upon his best friend for everything.

The conversation soon moved onto what they had been up to recently. Tye told Jaime that he had been promoted, which Jamie ecstatically congratulated him for, and Jaime told Tye about the new work-study program he had applied for this semester. He was going to sit in on counseling sessions and assist a working psychiatrist in the area.

"You're doing this on top of all your school work?" Tye asked skeptically, "Won't that be a bit much?"

Jaime shrugged and replied, "Nah, it should be alright. Junior year is when we get more time to focus on classes and activities specific to our major, so it should overlap nicely."

Tye was still skeptical, but at that moment their food arrived and his thought process was broken. They were starving. The auburn looked seriously harrowed upon his return. Sweat beaded at his temples as he balanced a huge tray full of food in one hand and placed their orders quickly on the table with the other.

"Sorry for the wait," he said hurriedly, somehow managing to produce an infectious smile that put them at ease. Jaime and Tye barely had time to thank him before he bustled along to the next table, straining against the weight of the food.

"Looks like your boyfriend is also trying to juggle too much at once," Tye said.

Jaime flicked a fry at him before digging into his burger.

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Bart was having a hell of a day. He had been called in on his day off not just because one, but _both,_ of his coworkers had called in sick. Still, he had tried his best to pay enough attention to all of the tables. However, there had been at least three parties who had gotten up and walked out already, complaining that the service was too slow.

The seventeen year old sighed and downed a glass of water in the back, grateful that he was still on summer break and could sleep in a bit tomorrow. It was stressful living on your own at such an early age, but he managed. He had to. He had nowhere else to go, no one else to rely on.

His parents had died several years ago and after a failed attempt to live with his uncle and aunt in Philadelphia, he had gone to live with his grandparents in El Paso Texas for a time. But they couldn't care for him. In fact, they could barely care for themselves. After his aunt had helped him file the paperwork to become an emancipated teen, his grandparents had been sent to an assisted living home. Bart had stayed their old home in El Paso to be close to them and because things were cheaper compared to Philadelphia.

The clattering of porcelain on cheap aluminum told him that his next order was ready to go. Bart piled the dishes onto a serving tray and headed out into the main area. The restaurant had slowed down a bit since it was getting on towards mid afternoon. Now he only had a few stops to make, checking up on customers to see if everything was alright and if they needed anything. The party from table five requested a refill on their drinks.

On his way back with the pitcher he noticed that the two older boys had gone at last. They had sat there for a while; talking and chatting long after their meals had been consumed and the plates cleared away.

Bart had glanced at them enviously from time to time, wishing despite everything he could wish for, that he had a best friend he could chat with like that. But there was no time to make close friends when you were trying to make it on your own at seventeen.

Once the customers at table five had been seen to, Bart started to clear the messy tables. When he got to the one where the boys had been sitting he noticed a sizeable tip had been left. Under it was a note scrawled on the back of the customer copy of a receipt. In hurried handwriting it read out:

_Hey, don't freak, but my buddy Jamie thinks you're cute. You should give him a call sometime! (915)-887-4350_

Bart blanched. How had they known he was gay?! Compulsively he crushed the note as he clenched his fists, trying to keep from visibly trembling.

A myriad of emotions were running through him, though the primary two battling it out were hope and a heavy dash of fear. Trying to calm down, he told himself that it was just a practical joke and shoved the tip, note and all, deep into his pocket. He forced himself to clear away the table like normal.

As he reached across the table for a lone French fry, however, a small lacquered card caught his eye. It had fallen in the crevasse between the seat and the back of the booth. Picking it up, Bart found that it was a school ID belonging to a boy named Jaime Reyes who attended UTEP: the University of Texas at El Paso.

This must be the Jaime that the note had been talking about. Bart recognized him as one of the older boys from earlier. He was handsome with an angular jawline and mocha colored skin showing yellow undertones. His hair was a warm black, cropped close to his head. In the ID photo his almond-shaped brown eyes crinkled in a small, uncertain smile.

Realizing that he had been standing here staring at the photo for too long Bart shoved the ID into his pocket along with the note and his tips from that day. Perhaps he would give this Jaime a call, if just to return the boy's ID to him.

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**A/N Afterwards: I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring. I promise that it will pick up soon and that there will be some lovely interaction between Bart and Jaime! In any event, please follow if you are interested in reading more and know that reviews help inspire me to write a little faster! Thanks again for reading my fic! :)**

**Story Cover Image: post/48087245705/i-think-that-possibly-maybe-im-fa lling-for-you**


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